Thermal interface materials are used in many applications to transfer heat from heat-generating components in a system to a heat sink, heat spreader or other heat-removing device to remove heat from the components and prevent overheating of the components. For example, in electronic applications, thermal interface materials are used to transfer heat from heat-generating electronic components (e.g., microprocessor chip) to heat sinks. In space applications, thermal interface materials are used to transfer heat from heat-generating components of a satellite to heat pipes.
Thermal greases and thermal epoxies are commonly used for thermal interface materials. However, these thermal interface materials typically have low thermal conductivities of only 1-5 W/m·K, which limit their ability to remove heat from heat-generating components to heat-removing devices.
Therefore, there is a need for thermal interface materials having high thermal conductivities to improve removal of heat from heat-generating components.